Canada’s Mary-Sophie Harvey said she “was really chill” as Summer McIntosh and Penny Oleksiak battled for the early lead in the women’s 200-metre freestyle race Tuesday at the Olympic & Paralympic Trials.
Harvey upped her pace over the final 100 to move into second place behind McIntosh to secure one of two Paris berths in the discipline.
“I was fully calm,” Harvey said. “I’ve been doing really well all year in this race and I’ve built up a lot of confidence. So I knew going in there [I’d be strong].
“In my mind I was like, ‘That spot is mine.”‘
WATCH | McIntosh wins 200m free on Day 2 of Canadian swimming trials:
Toronto’s Summer McIntosh swam to an Olympic qualifying time of 1:53.69 Tuesday at the 2024 Olympic & Paralympic Trials.
The 17-year-old McIntosh, from Toronto, was in control for a second straight night. She took top spot in one minute 53.69 seconds.
“I’m ecstatic about it obviously but it’s important to just keep pushing forward because I know I’ve done the training for this meet and heading forward,” she said. “I’m just trying to get the most out of that and just have fun and keep racing.”
McIntosh, who enjoyed a breakout performance at this event three years ago ahead of the Tokyo Games, was dominant in her 400 freestyle victory a night earlier.
“It pushes us, I think all the girls, to better ourselves,” Harvey said of her teammate’s excellence. “We want to race her. I was able to see her feet today, so that was kind of nice.”
Oleksiak, a seven-time Olympic medallist from Toronto, fell back over the second half of the race and ended up ninth in 2:00.18.
She declined to speak to reporters in the poolside interview area at the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre. Oleksiak later provided a brief comment to a Swimming Canada representative.
WATCH | What to expect on Day 3 of swimming trials:
CBC Sports’ Devin Heroux and Brittany Maclean recap Day 2 of the Canadian swim trials and outline what to look forward to on Day 3.
Harvey, 24, made her Olympic debut in Tokyo, finishing fourth in the 4×200-metre freestyle relay. She won 4×100 medley relay bronze at the 2023 world championship.
“I know my strengths [in the 200 free] and it’s definitely not the front-end speed,” she said. “I wish I had it. But I know my strength is back-end speed. I’ve been working on it all year.”
In other races, Saskatoon’s Blake Tierney (53.48) and Toronto’s Javier Acevedo (53.55) secured spots in the men’s 100 backstroke. Tristan Jankovics of Guelph, Ont., was the lone qualifier in the men’s 400-metre medley in 4:11.74.
WATCH | Tierney earns Olympic qualification in men’s 100m backstroke:
Tierney finished with a time of 53.48 at the 2024 Canadian Olympic & Paralympic trials.
Like McIntosh, Harvey booked a spot for the July 26-Aug. 11 Games on Monday when she finished second behind Maggie Mac Neil of London, Ont., in the 100 butterfly.
“Two races, two tickets,” Harvey said. “You can’t ask for better.”
In Para swimming competition, Tess Routliffe of Caledon, Ont., trimmed nearly a second off her national SB7 record in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:30.47.
In the SB8 class, Katarina Roxon of Kippens, N.L., finished in 1:25.71 and in SB13, Maxine Lavitt of Winnipeg had a time of 1:25.79. In the SB14 class, Emma Van Dyk of Port Colborne, Ont., finished in 1:31.10 and Toronto’s Ruby Stevens posted a time of 2:09.80 in SB5.
WATCH | Routliffe sets Canadian record in 100m breaststroke SB7:
Tess Routliffe of Caledon, Ont., set a Canadian record in the 100-metre breaststroke SB7 final with a time of 1:30.47 at the 2024 Olympic & Paralympic Trials.
Two records fell in the men’s 100 breaststroke.
James Leroux of Repentigny, Que., led SB9 swimmers in 1:12.43.
Para swimmers who finish with an ‘A’ qualifying time are eligible to be nominated to the Paralympic team when the event wraps on Sunday night.
There are slot allocations for 15 women and seven men. The Paralympics will be held Aug. 28-Sept. 8.
WATCH | Bennett sets Canadian mark in 100m breaststroke SB7:
Nicholas Bennett swims to a Canadian record in the SB7 100-metre breaststroke with a time of 1:03.71 at the 2024 Olympic & Paralympic Trials in Toronto.
